Correction of arterial input function in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of the liver.

PURPOSE To develop a postprocessing method to correct saturation of arterial input function (AIF) in T1-weighted dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) for quantification of hepatic perfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS The saturated AIF is corrected by parameterizing the first pass of the AIF as a smooth function with a single peak and minimizing a least-squares error in fitting the liver DCE-MRI data to a dual-input single-compartment model. Sensitivities of the method to the degree of saturation in the AIF first-pass peak and the image contrast-to-noise ratio were assessed. The method was also evaluated by correlating portal venous perfusion with an independent overall liver function measurement. RESULTS The proposed method corrects the distorted AIF with a saturation ratio up to 0.45. The corrected AIF improved hepatic arterial perfusion by -23.4% and portal venous perfusion by 26.9% in a study of 12 patients with liver cancers. The correlation between the mean voxelwise portal venous perfusion and overall liver function measurement was improved by using the corrected AIFs (R(2) = 0.67) compared with the saturated AIFs (R(2) = 0.39). CONCLUSION The method is robust for correcting AIF distortion and has the potential to improve quantification of hepatic perfusion for assessment of liver tissue response to treatment in patients with hepatic cancers.